BUSINESSES SLOWLY ADAPTING TO BIG DATA

POSTED BY IHAR MARAZIUK ⋅ JANUARY 30, 2014

More than half of the business leaders questioned as part of a recent survey claim to have changed the way they operate to meet the demands of big data, bmmagazine.co.uk reports.

Audit firm KPMG questioned more than 140 chief information officers (CIOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs), with 56 per cent saying they had been forced to adapt. Only 10 per cent, however, said they felt able to properly use the customer information they had gathered.

The report, entitled ‘Going beyond the data’, showed that 85 per cent of businesses are struggling to analyse the customer information they have already collected, while 54 per cent are unsure as to which types of data are most useful. These figures suggest that business leaders will need to develop a better understanding of big data before they’re able to capitalise on its marketing potential.

KPMG’s head of digital and analytics in the UK, Alwin Magimay, suggested that some firms don’t realise the benefits on offer. He was quoted by techworld.com as saying: “Most organisations are unable to connect the dots because they do not fully understand how data and analytics can transform their business.

“Unless businesses tackle the problem of data collection and analysis one step at a time they run the risk of crashing and burning.”

KPMG’s report went on to highlight how many of the businesses which acted early to harness the power of customer data are already starting to show positive results. It gave one example of an automotive firm which had used the information it collected to get a better idea of what its customers wanted to see in its new cars.